Detective Agency:The enigma of the Past
by Thegoldenlock
Summary: EspioXOC. Espio gets thrown into another dimention and finds himself stuck together with a manga artist. The need to find his friends, solve the mystery of the two dimentions so he can return home brings them them together in more ways than one.
1. The Invisible Freeloader

**AN; Okay so this is my first "Sonic**" **fanfiction ever so be nice with me. I haven´t watched the tv show a lot so I´ll base things of my impression and the game Sonic Heroes. I´ll probably look things up though, to make it a detailed story. I´m a sucker for OCs so this story is through an OC´s point of view. If you dislike that please stop reading now and don´t leave insulting comments. **

**Pairing: OCxEspio and other minor pairings. Characters such as the rest of Team CHaotix will be introduced, as well as other Sonic characters.  
**

**Waning: OC centric, possible bad language and violence futher on. Story is a little different from the normal story line of Sonic games and tv-shows. **

**Enjoy!

* * *

****The** only source of light outside are the colorful limelights of the many high-fashion stores. The light makes it impossible to see the stars on the now dark sky but there´s not many people awake to complain about it. Inside a small apartment on the 5th floor of a cheap and almost run-down apartment building lies a young woman asleep on the floor with her hands colored black. It seems like she fell asleep while drawing with black ink. She´s about 5´7" tall, on the chubby side and has noticeable feminine curves. Her long brown hair is in a messy bun on the top of her head and she has used one of her many pencils as a pin to keep it together. A pair of black thick glasses decorates her rather pale face and the accessory moves up and down her nose as she breathes rather loudly, she´s almost snoring. The young woman is ignorant of the sudden change of air outside and doesn´t notice the strong light that suddenly devours all the darkness and even overpowers the limelights. The light disappears just as fast as it appeared and a loud thud inside of her apartment is what wakes her up.

"Urgh!" She groans.

The girl flinches violently at the floor as she´s forced out of the world of dreaming and she sits up in a daze. The reason why she woke up is unknown to her. She can´t see anything in the darkness and starts to search for her cell phone after a while of just sitting there. Her brown eyes narrow as she sees what time it´s.

"Whaaaat? It´s still so early why did I—? Why am I on the floor?"

The girl looks down and notices that she´s in a big mess. Her hands are black due to ink, papers are stuck to her body and she guesses that her face is covered by the manga she drew hours ago. A loud sigh leaves her lips as she forces her tired body from the floor and makes her way towards the bed. A quick but noticeable sound can be heard as something craws out of the way and hides but she pays no attention to it.

"What would mom say if she saw me right now? She would think I´m crazy for talking to myself like this…" She comments to herself in a whine.

Just as she´s about to crawl under the warm sheets a squeak from the living room makes her stop in her tracks. The sound came from where all the papers cover the floor. It was just as if someone walked by there, jumping over the papers gracefully.

"Is someone there?" Her voice echoes but there´s no one there to respond. "Hello? And now I´m going paranoid…maybe I should have stayed in the country side after all." She sighs.

The girl hurries to get on the bed and tells herself that no one is in her apartment but herself at the moment. Maybe it was a nightmare that woke her up and her brain thinks that the villain from the dream is in her apartment?

"Whoever who decided to break into my apartment just now, good night, I´m going to sleep. If you´re going to steal anything please don´t use the window on the way out, use the door. This is on the fifth floor." She talks loudly in an exaggerated manner.

And she falls asleep soundly.

* * *

**The **warmth of the sun is what brings me out of my slumber this early Saturday morning and I remind myself of that I _do_ need to buy a pair of curtains. It´s not fun to wake up due to the sun every single morning. I yawn loudly as I stretch my body while enjoying the popping sound of my limbs; it´s a habit my mom hated me for. A big smirk covers my lips as I realize she´s not here to complain about it. I get out of bed and start to clean after some moments of complaints while the incident from earlier today returns to my mind. _It would look like a burglar visited me if I didn´t know I was the one who caused this mess…_

My name is Ida and I´m an 18 year old girl from the country side who moved into the big city to study and get myself a job. It was something I had to do to get away from my family back home. I lived together with my lovely mother, my nice step-father and the devil as my step-sister and wanted to break free just like a modern Cinderella story. It´s not that I was treated badly it was just that neither my mom nor my step-dad wanted me to go for my dream to become a manga artist and that my step-sister always was a pain in the ass. I needed to break free and try out my wings. Maybe you wonder where my father is? Well since my mom never wanted to talk about him I realized that he can´t be that important to us so I let the whole subject go since I love my mother more than anything in the world. _If my father wanted me he would had contacted me by now, wouldn´t he?_

After tidying my apartment I decide it´s best to take a shower to get rid of all the ink on my skin. The water turns black as I massage my skin and I scold myself for falling asleep on the comic that was supposed to give me a chance at entering the art school in town. _I have to start over again, maybe that´s good because the story line was a little off…_I think to myself as I start to sing. Singing in the shower is great even though I don´t have a voice like Britney Spears or something. I dress myself in a simple white t-shirt and a too big overall before I exit the bathroom to prepare myself something to eat. I always eat one big sandwich with cheese and cucumber on together with a glass of chocolate milk. It´s not very healthy, I know, but I need the sugar to wake up in the morning. My diet has resulted in my few pounds of overweight. I put the sandwich on the table before I walk into the hallway to put on some socks, which I had forgotten, before I return to dig in. The sandwich is gone and I stare at the empty space wide-eyed. _Did I eat it without noticing?_

"Where did my sandwich go? I´m sure I prepared one…" I sigh deeply while scratching my head. "I guess I´ll get another one."

After eating breakfast I start to work on my art project one again. Due to me sleeping on it I have to redo it all but I find myself thankful. Now I´ll get more time to think of the story line and my characters. _I´m thinking of something supernatural, like superpowers or something, alongside about three or more interesting main characters that struggle with life or something. _I chew a little on my pencil as I lie down on the floor and start to plan a future comic. I´ve a lot of imagination but what´s hard is to make the red thread throughout the story connect in the end. I jiggle my legs, back and forth, as I disappear into a world of my own.

* * *

**Some **days later I panic due to my own clumsiness. The pencils I use for shadowing my drawings has disappeared and I can´t find it no matter how much I search. I know I´ll find it if I continue to search but I´ve this kick-ass scene in my head that needs to be draw before the memory of it vanishes.

"Gah, I can´t find my pencil!" I shout out loud while walking back and forth in my small apartment.

I go into the bath room and checks one mere even though I´ve no clue why I should have dropped it in there before I return to the living room. _The neighbors will complain if I continue to make noises like this…_ Something suddenly catches my attention and I find what I´ve been looking for on the living room table. My brown eyes narrow as I grab it.

"I´m sure I looked over there before and now…" I tell myself hesitantly. "Maybe I´ve a friendly ghost who´s decided to help me…or something. Hahaha…" I laugh in a tense manner.

_Am I going crazy? _I ask myself as I return to my drawings. The feeling of being watched invades my senses. _Why would someone watch me?_

A childhood friend once told me a story about one of her friends who lived alone in an apartment just like I do now. She said that one day things went missing, things were on the wrong place and she found her food half-eaten. It turned out that a man has been sharing her apartment with her for over two weeks, eating her food, using her towels and sleeping on the sofa. The man was friendly but the fact that they´ve been living under the same roof without her realizing it scares me because what if it´s the same for me? What if a man secretly uses my home when I´m gone?_ But I hardly leave my apartment, if someone is living here with me he either is a ghost or knows how to hide really well. _What if a murderer hides somewhere?I glance at the table over my shoulder with a suspicious look on my face. Something I don´t know is that it indeed is a young chameleon that´s watching me from a distance much closer than usual burglars would hide.

* * *

**When **the week-end arrives I bring a friend I recently made due to my constant visits at the "Japan Store" in town home to my apartment. That store is my heaven, the place where I buy manga and other Japan related stuff. We started to talk one day and both realized we have a lot in common and one of the first things he said to me was that he was afraid that I would to take over his job at the manga department. His name is Adam and is what you can call a computer nerd who always brings his _sweetheart_ aka laptop with him wherever he goes. I think his dream is to work at some computer company in Japan designing games all day.

"Do you live here? It´s so small…!" Adam comments as he enters the hallway.

Adam hasn´t told me his age but I think he´s about two or three years older than me even though he sometimes acts like a small child. He is very tall and thin, has shoulder length dirty blonde hair, a small beard and a pair of stunning blue eyes that are open to the world. I don´t know much about him other than our shared interest and I realize that when I let him enter my home. _I haven´t prepared any subjects to speak about…maybe it´s boring to only talk about manga and stuff? _I ponder to myself.

"Yeah I couldn´t afford anything fancier." I tell him with a nervous smile. "Do you want some coffee or something?"

"…Do you have something with oranges in?" He asks me almost shyly, probably thinking that a man his age should be able to handle one cup of coffee.

"Mm… I think I have some juice…"

"That would be great." He tells me. "Well, a small apartment is better than still living with your parents."

"You´re working at the store all day long so you moving out shouldn´t be that hard right?" I ask him carefully.

"It´s just hard leaving everything behind…"He tells me.

"Oh no, momma´s boy." I smirk at him teasingly. "You´ll achieve your dreams. Don´t let your mother complex stop you!"

"Hey!" He complains. "Who said I had a mother complex?"

"All guys suffer from it once in their lives."

I can help but grin at Adam as he once again gets shy in front of me. He´s a nice guy that I can be myself with and him working at the Japan store gives me some advantages…_No, I don´t take advantage of my friends but this it quite tempting…_ I shake my head as I give him a class of orange juice before I start to prepare one cup of coffee to myself.

"Can I take a look at your drawings?"

"Sure, they´re in the heap over there."

"You´re…quite skilled. Have you tried to draw a whole story before?"

"Nope." I sigh. "That´s something I need to work on. I´m good at drawing, I know that, but making up stories and make them sound ok isn´t really my strong point."

"So that´s why you buy that amount of manga." He laughs.

"…Yeah in a way. I just can´t make it work, I need some kind of motivation but nothing out of the ordinary happens here." I answer seriously.

"You got that one—,What was that?" Adam asks me suddenly, his eyes are wide.

"What?" I ask him since I´ve no clue about what he´s talking about.

"You said you lived alone right?" He asks me with in a high voice.

"Yeah, why?" I still don´t get it.

"Someone just…"Adam looks at the door over his shoulder. "…Left."

Brown eyes widen as I stare at the door that´s moving slowly until it closes in the hallway. It´s just like someone just left the apartment and let the door slide close. An ice-cold feeling enters my body as I freezes and almost drops the cup in my hands. Adam regards me in silence before he dares to ask me what´s wrong.

"Ida?"

"Adam, do you believe in ghosts?" I ask him breathlessly.

"Why, all of a sudden?" Adam doesn´t like where this conversation is going. "Ida, what´s going on here?"

"I think I´m sharing my apartment with one. That or an invisible freeloader." Is my conclusion.

* * *

**The **days went on as usual but I´m now searching for signs of the ghost that´s hunting me. I take not of things that disappear and appear in different places, I notice how food disappears and I even try to catch it in the act. _But since when did ghost need food? Maybe it´s a burglar after all!_ The story of my childhood friend is starting to scare me when I all of a sudden bump into that said ghost. The skin against skin contact takes my breath away and I stop walking.

I was going to fetch a coke from the kitchen when I walk straight into something standing in the doorway. But as I watch the space around me there´s nothing there. _I´m sure I bumped into something! _Brown eyes widen. _It was about the length of a child and very warm and quite jagged skin…skin that can be compared to the one of a lizard´s. _A cold shiver runs down my spine at the thought of my new apartment being haunted by ghosts. Ghost who can get a physical body of some sort. My whole body freezes as I decide to face whatever that´s haunting my apartment head on.

"Who´s there?" I yell with caution. "I know you´ve been hiding here for some time, now, show yourself or I´ll— throw this on you!" A try to threaten the intruder with the coke in my hand.

My apartment is eerily quiet for a long time before something out of the ordinary happens. The air in front of me suddenly changes and the shape of a small child, no something else, appears out of nowhere. It´s like the colors and shapes of my kitchen changes and turns into something else. It´s about 3' 7" tall, its skin is purple and it looks much like a creature from some of the cartoons I´ve been watching to not feel too lonely lately. A pair of golden eyes regards me with caution as it gets completely visible. _It´s not human at all. _It has a long tail, a yellow horn-like nose and wears a pair of odd looking shoes and gloves. I stare at it in silence before I fall backwards by surprise.

"I´ve got a bad feeling about this…" The chameleon-looking creature murmurs warily.

And that´s when I notice all the ninja weapons attached to the chameleon. Shuriken, kunai and its aura tells me of the power lurking behind those somewhat calm golden eyes and collected expression.

* * *

**AN; what do you think? I´ve to say that this is more of an introduction than a chapter, so you´d get to know the OC. I hope you like her and that she´s not mary-sue. The real story will start in the next chapter. Reviews and favs are great, so please let me know what you think of this so far. It´ll help me get motivated to update too. R&R**


	2. Espio the Chameleon

**AN; Hello! This is the second chapter of my story! I realized that there aren´t much stories about a human OC and the original characters of the Sonic show out there. A lot of people create their own Sonic OC that are like them, an animal-looking human creature or what you can call them. Someday I might make another OC but I like human OCs the most.

* * *

**

**I** stare at the cartoon-looking creature with wide eyes from my spot on the floor. Brown eyes dart from its eyes to its weapons as I try to calm myself down. Being frightened would make it very hard to thing straight if he´s a threat to me. I can´t flee if I´m paralyzed due to fear, right? A thought in the back of my mind tells me that if he wanted to kill me he would have slaughtered me long time ago and that makes me able to catch my breath somewhat.

"Who are—what are you?" I ask in a forced calm voice.

Golden eyes look at me intensively and I get comfortable quickly but doesn´t dare to look away.

"The name is Espio, Espio the Chameleon." It answers calmly and I presume _"it"_ is a _"he" _due to the use of a quite masculine voice_._

He looks at me in a very collected manner and it makes me feel stupid for acting like a scared child in front of him. It seems that our meeting doesn´t surprise him at all, as if he´s been knowing about me for a time while I on the other hand is new to this. I knew in the back of my mind that there was a freeloader but I wasn´t brave enough to accept it or face it before it escalated into this confrontation.

"How long have you been here?" Is my next question.

"For about a week." He answers truthfully.

The _thing _called Espio seems to notice my discomfort and creates a wider distance between us as he takes a couple of steps backwards to lean against the wall. His eyes doesn´t leave me for one moment as my expression changes from fear to pure shock.

"…A week?" I repeat with wide eyes as I follow his movements.

"You felt my presence quite early but ignored it, am I right?" He asks me with hidden curiosity.

I glance at him from the corner of my eye as I get back on my feet. The difference in height strikes me once again as we faces each other properly. He´s small like a child but seems to wield an inhuman power that I can´t comprehend. It seems that the way I´m looking down at Espio bothers him and he crosses his arms over his chest while waiting for my answer.

"Yes I did." Is my short answer and I avert my gaze. "I didn´t want to accept it."

I try to act cool when I create an even wider distance between the two of us both his stare tells me he knows that I´m scared. It feels like those golden, almost reptile-like, eyes can see through every kind of façade I come up with. _His aura isn´t human, not at all but he´s still so… I don´t know._

"So you´ve been living here for a week." I state the fact in a low whisper. "I guess you know my name already. I bet you know _a_ _lot_ of things about me without me telling you."

Espio looks at me in silence with what looks like one raised brow. He doesn´t understand what I´m trying to tell him.

" Did you peek?" I ask him bluntly.

"What?" His eyes widen.

"Did you peek when I changed, when I took a shower, when I was on the toilet?"

Espio blushes and loses his cool for a moment and his reaction makes me relax one bit. It shows that he isn´t completely heartless and knows when it´s best not to be close.

"Certainly not!" He blurts out.

"Hehe, I guess you´re not as bad as I first thought." I chuckle as the tension in my body finally fades to a comfortable extent. "So why are you here…Espio?"

"…" He´s silent a while before talking. "I somehow ended up in this world and as I fled I got into your apartment. I can´t remember it well. The light was blinding me."

I look at him with wide eyes before I decide it´s a big joke or that my mind is playing a trick on me.

"Are you saying you´re from a different world?" I ask him with a raised brow, not believing him one bit.

"I do." He answers seriously.

I look at him with wide brown eyes and a semi-opened mouth before I snort and shake my head. Espio looks at me and frowns at my reaction. He seems to understand why I don´t believe him and makes an attempt to change my mind bye continuing to talk.

"I need to find my friends but I don´t understand how your world works, it´s very different from where I lived."

"Your friends? Are they…no offence but, do they look like you?" I ask him in a high-pitched voice.

"Vector is an alligator and Charmy is a bee. We got separated when we were thrown from our dimension to yours."

"An alligator and a bee?" I repeat. "And you´re a chameleon right?"

"Yes."He nods.

"Oh my, I think I´ve been reading too much manga lately."I tell myself with a shrug of my shoulders.

I start to move in my apartment and ignore the presence of the chameleon while I open the coke I threatened to throw at him earlier. The cold liquid makes my throat hurt as I drink too much as one time but I don´t care. Espio follows me soundlessly just as if he weights nothing or floats over the surface of the floor. _He´s light on his feet…_

"I´m serious." He looks at me sternly, forcing me too look at him by moving to stand in my way.

I glance at him as I take another sip of my drink.

"They shouldn´t be hard to find. I mean, an alligator…"

Espio stares at me. "…If someone found him they probably handed him over to the local Zoo." The words emerges from my mouth in a hurtful manner even though I didn´t mean it that way.

Brown eyes glances at the bath room door before I decide that I´m too lazy to brush my teeth. I put the empty can on the kitchen table before I approach my bed.

"Where are you going?"

"I`m going to bed. I want to wake up from this eerie dream as fast as possible." I tell him.

* * *

**Morning** arrives faster than usual and it takes me some time to understand why I woke up that early. It´s because I got to bed quite early yesterday to wake up from that strange fantasy world I built up around me again. A sigh leaves my lips as I stretch my body and listens to the popping of my shoulders. They ache a little. Brown eyes dart around while looking for what had disturbed my life as a wanna be manga artist I find nothing. _It was a dream! _I smile to myself before I remember something. _He said he was a chameleon, they´re pretty good at hiding. _A cold feeling enters me when I realize that Espio can be watching me in this moment.

"Espio?" I whisper hesitantly as if I don´t want to know if he´s there or not.

"Yes?"

Espio, who seems to have been meditating, appears out of nowhere and the sight of him makes me sigh deeply. The sound of my sigh makes him stop in his tracks as he was about to approach me. Golden eyes look at me warily.

"Why are you still here?" I complain.

"You thought that I was something your mind came up with, didn't you?" He asks me sourly as if he at first thought I believed him just to be proved wrong.

"I thought you´d go away after a nap." I tell him honestly while getting out of bed. "So, are you hungry?"

I don´t care about him seeing me in my pajamas since I somehow doesn´t see him as a boy, or anything like that, but my choice of pajama isn´t anything daring anyways. I´m dressed in a big t-shirt and a pair of shorts. His eyes follow me as I walk into the kitchen in a very zombie-like manner. _Why did this happen to me?_

"I´m sorry for eating without…asking." He apologies all of a sudden.

I glance at Espio as I prepares breakfast for us both and I realize that he must be the reason why I´ve been shopping more food than ever this last week. But this is the first time I actually will see my food vanish. I offer him a glass of water and a sandwich hesitantly which he accepts with a polite nod of his head.

"Well, it scared me. That stuff disappeared and appeared somewhere else." I tell him. " So what have you been doing while being my invisible freeloader?"

"I´ve been trying to figure things out. Why I´m here, where my comrades are but above all: what connection this place has to my home and how I can return." He eats slowly.

"Did you find anything?"

"No, nothing."

"That sucks." I comment.

"Do you believe me now?" He asks with a tiny bit of hope in his voice.

"I don't know yet." I tell him truthfully. "But I´ll give you a chance to prove yourself and what you say to me. Just don´t point those point those pointy things at me."

I nod towards his weapons. The shadow of a smile appears on Espio´s lips as he puts them away from my sight. We eat in silence.

* * *

**Now** when the two of us has gotten properly introduced Espio stays visible around me. The purple chameleon meditates in silence as I continue to doodle on my paper. I don´t know if he´s aware of that I´m trying to draw his portrait at the moment but I don´t ask him since I think he wouldn´t like me interrupting his peace. I like the way he stays out of my when I want him to so I´ll do the same for him. I chew on my pencil while regarding his calm face.

He reminds me of a ninja, someone who´s serious, calm, collected and even a bit cold. Espio seems to be a somewhat laid-back guy but his self-confidence is greater than the average and something tells me he´s fearless to an extent that could be dangerous for him. All these traits can be seen as negative to some degree but I´ve also noticed that he´s honest, has pride and is respectful. _He apologized for eating my food without asking, that´s isn´t every freeloader would do. _He´s a cool guy in my eyes and even though he is an alien I´ve grown to like him to an extent.

The lines on my paper become Espio in a fighting pose where he throws one of those shuriken of his. _I wonder what kind of world he came from. _I ponder as I shade his weapons carefully._ Is everyone trained for fighting? _I add some details to his shoes. Thinking of the possible world he could come from makes me enter a world of thoughts and I doesn´t notice how the chameleon of my thoughts sneaks up behind me. He looks at the drawing over my shoulder in silence. He watches how I draw a surrealistic background that he thinks is my vision of his world.

"Hm…"

The sound of Espio behind me makes me flinch and a small blush cover my cheeks as I look at him. I feel embarrassed over him finding out about the drawing but stay silent as he takes it from my hand to regard it closely. He doesn´t comment it at all but I don´t know if that is a good or bad thing.

"If I tell you how my friends look, you think you could draw their portrait?"

It seems that Espio is serious most of the time so me drawing him wouldn´t bother him at all. It makes me relax but also feel childish over my fear of him disliking it. He is more grown up than I am even though he is as tall as a six year old.

"I can try."

Espio sit down next to me and starts to describe his two friends to me as I doodle freely. He corrects me sternly when I make mistakes and compliments me when the drawing starts to look like his friends. I never knew it was so hard to draw something someone else described! Espio is content after about a half hour of drawing.

"Yes, that´s indeed Vector and Charmy." He tells me while nodding.

"The bee is kind of cute." I comment with a smile. "How old is he?"

"Six."

"So young? Aww I just want to hug him!" I squeal happily.

"You better not, he´s a bee and stings like one."

"Ouch." I flinch at the thought of it.

Espio smirks at me.

"You guys seem to be very interesting characters." I tell him. "Can you tell me about your dimension? Is it a lot different from this place?"

"It´s very different."

And Espio starts telling me of a world I never thought could exist. His world seems so much better than mine in a lot of ways and I find myself wanting to get to know more about Espio and his home.

* * *

"**I can´t** afford this." I sigh with depression.

Espio and I are currently grocery shopping and if people walked by me they would all think I was talking to myself. The chameleon uses his camouflage ability to bland into the background as he stands next to me. I´m looking down at the shopping basket with depression clear on my face. My wallet has become empty due to paying for food for two stomachs instead of one and I´m quick to realize that what I´ve picked for today´s dinner is too expensive if we want food all days this month.

"I´m sorry." Espio apologizes calmly with a hint of guilt in his voice.

"It´s not your fault." I tell him with a weak smile. "I need to apply for more jobs straight away, my allowance isn´t enough anymore."

I walk towards the frozen goods and pick chicken and fish out of the coldness. The warmth radiating from Espio tells me he stands not too far away from where I am. He has grown quiet by I pay no attention to it since I think his silence is good so we won´t attract too much attention. Espio is in deep thought and his yellow eyes move from me to the food and back again.

"Why don´t you start a detective agency?" He says all of a sudden.

"Ehm…why? I´m not Sherlock Holmes or anything."I chuckle to myself. "I think I just have to search jobs at the local cafés or something."

"Vector, Charmy and I used to take on cases for money before. You can earn money while we look for them and take on simple cases. I´ll solve the mystery while you´ll act as the detective."

I look at the place I think Espio is standing for a long time while thinking through his suggestion. It feels wrong to be relying on him like that even though he has been using my hospitality to some extent. The thought of being a detective has never appealed to me and all I can think of is the danger. You´ll work with the law against possible crimes and will always risk being hurt. _It isn´t really my thing…_ Some say I´m pretty brave and all but I don´t have the physical health to be able to outrun a criminal in cases where I need to hunt or when I´m hunted. Brown eyes glance at the ice-cream I´ve in my shopping basket. _Me and my sugar obsession. _

"That lady is staring at us." Espio´s voice interrupts my thoughts.

"No at me, she probably thinks I´m strange talking with _myself_ like this." I whisper before I turn to the woman that´s indeed watching me. "Oh, I use the hands-free!" I tell her with a broad smile as I point at my cell phone.

I sigh loudly as the lade turns to leave after giving me a glare. _Espio seem more than fit to be a detective. He´s strong, healthy and has the brains to fight evil. _

"I´ll apply for jobs and I´ll think of being a detective if I get no other choice. Our first case will be to find your friends anyway, right? I´ll see how well I can handle it I´m not good with dangerous stuff."

Espio smiles weakly at me and it makes me shut my mouth. It´s the first time he smiles at me and it takes me by surprise. It´s like he has grown to like me as well. _This isn´t as bad as I first thought._ I ponder as I pay.

* * *

**Adam **looks around suspiciously as he visits me for the second time and I can´t blame him after the discussion we had last time he visited. I smirk as I walk by Espio who´s sitting on the floor leaning against the wall while being completely invisible to the human eye. It feels strange to be talking to a person who doesn´t know of the third person in the room, ot almost feel like lying.

"Did you catch that ghost?" Adam asks me.

"Well…ehm…" I begin, hesitant about what to tell him while I glance at the location I know Espio is sitting. "I realized that it was the neighbors' cat."

I hear a noise telling me that me calling Espio a cat wasn´t appreciated. I can´t help but smirk at his reaction but my smirk makes Adam look at me strangely so I decide to "forget" about Espio.

"You´re kidding me, a cat? Phewww."

"Yeah but honestly, I almost wet my pants." I chuckle as I sit down in front of my friend. "I like paranormal stuff but experiencing it is different from seeing it on TV."

"I guess so." Adam smiles before he changes subject. "How are you, have settled down?"

"I´m starting to like this place, but it gets kind of lonely sometimes." I tell him. "The only person I know around here is you."

"I can introduce you to some nice people if you´d like. I bet you´ll get along with my friends, they´re just as nerdy as I am."

"Nerds are cool." I smirk. "People who dare to be themselves are the best."

"I feel flattered!"

"Haha, you should feel flattered! But Adam, I need your help with something. You know some local cosplayers right?"

"I do."

I dig in my pocket for my drawing casually even though I planned this from the beginning. Adam might know something about Espio´s friends.

"Have you seen these two?"

I show the drawing of Vector and Charmy Espio helped me sketch earlier today and I feel how the chameleon waits for Adam´s answer.

"Amazing costumes! Did you draw this?"

"I know, alright!" I chuckle. "Yeah, I couldn´t find the actual picture so I drew what I remember of them."

"No I haven´t seen hem but you should ask the other employees at the Japan Store, my pals might know something too. Why do you want to meet these guys?"

"Ah, I´ve seen their pictures and thought they seemed to be cool, you know? I heard they lived around here and thought that I should meet them just for fun."

"Mmm…sounds like you´re out on a friend hunt?"

"You can say that."

Adam smiles as he takes another look at the photo. I can´t help but think that Adam is a really nice guy as I regard him in silence. He helps me without me giving him anything and is always friendly. People like him is hard to find! A sudden beeping sound interrupts Adam and he glances down at his cell phone before he grins my way.

"What?"

"Do you want to hang out right now?" He asks suddenly.

"Ehm.. we´re hanging out..kinda?" I tell him, not grasping what he´s telling me.

"With my friends! They want me to go to the internet café down the street. I bet they would be thrilled if I said that I´ll bring a girl along."

Something tells me that Adam´s friends doesn´t have girlfriends.

"Sure, why not." I smile weakly as I glance at Espio before I add. "I have nothing better to do!"with fake enthusiasm.

"Then, let´s go." Adam smiles broadly.

The man gets up from the floor and is quick to put on his shoes and wait in the door way. He stops when He notices that I´m not as quick as him.

"Ida?"

"Go ahead, I just need to find something." I tell him a white lie.

"Ok."

Adam exits the room and I sigh deeply. I´m not really thrilled over meeting his friends so soon but I feel like I have to since Espio seriously wants to find Vector and Charmy. I´m not very good at meeting new people all of a sudden and the thought of it makes my stomach turn. Another sigh leaves my lips as I wonder why I make myself suffer to help an alien stranger like this. Sometimes I´m too nice for my own good but it often gives me something in return in the end and Espio hasn´t been anything but nice to me so far.

"You´re a quite good liar." Espio tells me from somewhere in the room and I wonder if he knows what I´m thinking.

"I don´t know if that´s a good thing or not." I answer flatly before I prepare to leave. "Espio, let´s go!"

"Roger!"

Espio appears out of thin air and joins me before he once again disappears in the background as we both head out. Things have started to move now and the place I thought nothing happened has turned into something else.

* * *

**AN: End of the second chapter! I hoped you enjoyed it.**

**Please read and review!**


	3. At the Amusement Park

**AN: Thanks for the shown interest for this story!

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**I´m **not a person who handle first meetings in a good way so I stay at Adam´s side shyly as he introduces me to his friends. I´m glad that we´re meeting at an internet café where it can´t get awkward or eerie quiet because you could always talk about…the computers. I smile gently as a guy with long hair nods my way when taking a break from the game.

"Hi, so this is the girlfriend you talked about Adam?" He smirks playfully.

I´m able to hide the blush that threatens to cover my cheeks in red at the comment. That is a very cliché comment in my point of view. My eyes move to Adam and I give him a glare that tells him to tell them the truth. He scratches his head and sighs deeply.

"Eh, she´s a _girl_ and my _friend_ but not my _girlfriend_…" He explains with a hint of tenseness in his voice.

And that was an even more cliché answer.

"Hello you guys! Yes I´m Adam´s _friend_ and I happen to be a _girl_." I smirk as I tag along on the cliché road. "The name is Ida."

"Nice to meet you Ida, I´m Claus and those two are Amadeus and Stan."

Claus seems to be the typical computer geek that likes heavy metal but has a sense of humor and isn´t antisocial. I like him already. The two other guys called Amadeus and Stan greets me quickly before returning to their computers. Amadeus is extremely pale and thin, has blonde hair and seems to be the type who would throw something at you if you interrupted his game. Stan is on the chubby side with Asian characteristics and he greets me politely before joining Amadeus in their game.

"So what do you play?"

"This new RPG that was released the other day." Claus tells me.

"Sounds cool, is it Japanese?"

"You bet!"

"Let me try."

Playing on the computer isn´t really my thing but I feel that I have to so I´ll get to know them before I question them. Espio´s presence is always near me and I think the Chameleon wants me to know where he is by staying close. He´s also listening all the time: searching for clues about how to find his friends. _Why am I doing this? _I sigh as I glance in Espio´s way. I can´t see him but the warmth radiating from his body tells me his position. _I´m doing this for his sake? I´m too nice for my own good! Maybe I should just have kicked him out? I mean…having an alien as a freeloader…_

"Ida, game over. It´s my turn."

"Oh, I spaced out a bit." I state the fact.

"Literally." Amadeus comments. The new game is about the space.

"I´m not good with computers… I rather draw or read."

"You guys meet through the JAP shop right?" Stan asks suddenly.

"Yeah." Adam answers.

"I could tell." Stan smiles.

The hours pass by and I feel how Espio grows tired at my lack of investigation. I sigh as I feel how he stares at me. If stares could kill I would have been lying on the floor with several shuriken pointing out from my head in this moment. But it seems as someone also remembered why I wanted to meet the guys.

"You had something you wanted to ask them right?" Adam asks me.

" Oh right! Do you know these two cosplayers? I need to meet them."

I show them my drawing of Vector and Charmy.

"I think I´ve seen that guy somewhere…" Stan tells me while pointing at Charmy before he turns to look at Claus. "You know when we were at the amusement park, wasn´t there a guy like that there, selling balloons?"

I can hear how Espio inhales deeply at this new information but I can´t believe he would sell…balloons?

"Now when you mention it… He was there. A small kid in a bee costume trying to sell things to us. He was very persistent."

"He worked at the amusement park? Are you sure?" I ask him wide-eyed. Who would employ a six-year-old?

"I´m certain. His high pitched voice is still ringing in my ears…"

"Oh, I guess that´s where I´ll be going then." I smile. "Thank you guys."

* * *

**I **feel relieved when I leave the guys behind at the internet café as I start heading home. It feels like something has left my shoulders. The meeting went well and they invited me to hang with them some other time soon, much to my surprise. A smile graces my face as I remember the sole lead we got to find one of Espio´s friends.

"So we´re going to an amusement park?" I ask Espio.

I feel something, what I think is his tail, touches my leg as he passes buy and that makes me able to face him even though he´s not visible. It seems that he always make sure that I know where he is, why, I don´t know.

"Yes." He answers is a quite seriously, his voice comes out of nowhere.

"Yay!" I almost jump into the air but then I notice Espio´s silence."What?" I ask him.

"I thought you would be annoyed with me."

The way he tells me that makes me slow down a bit and I once again is struck by his ability to read and understand me. It makes me feel guilty because then he must have realized how much I wanted to just abandon him and get back to my own life. I must be a bad person in his eyes. I sigh and decide that it doesn´t matter, that how he sees me doesn´t concern me but I also decides to be honest.

"I am but I realized that if… I were in your shoes I would appreciate some help too."I shrug my shoulders.

What I say proves that I indeed try to think that the Chameleon's story is true and that he is from another world far, far away. The so called alien appears faintly as if he chooses to show me his appreciation for a moment. Espio smiles gently and that makes my speechless. I didn´t know he could smile like that even though he possibly sees all of my flaws. I look away to hide my embarrassment. I´ve no clue how I should act around him but it seems that he appreciates my honesty. _Oh man, why do I get all blushie around an alien?_

When we get home Espio gets visible and we start to discuss how we should continue our search. It´s clear that we´re going to the amusement park the next day and that thrills me. I love amusement parks and I hope he´ll let me on some of the attractions. As Espio starts meditating I prepare some food for tomorrow while singing a song that´s stuck in my mind quietly. I stop singing as the thoughts I had before returns. _Maybe I´m a really selfish person. _With my hand on the kitchen table I lean against the furniture while spacing out. I find Espio´s presence to be a burden and that I kind of need to take care of a child that has no clue about our world but I also use him for my own gain. My eyes glance down at the boxed lunches I´ve prepared. _ Now I use him as an excuse to go to the amusement park…_ A deep and hollow breath leaves my lips. _But do I really want to go there… to a place so full of…memories?_

"Are you alright?" His sudden voice makes me flinch.

As I turn to look at Espio, who I thought was meditating, he sits towards me with his focus on me. Those golden eyes look at me intensively

"What?"

"You look like you´re in pain."

"Oh, no." I smile weakly. "Just thought of something. Don´t let me interrupt your meditation."

* * *

**The **next day two of us leave the apartment towards the local amusement park. I´m dressed in comfy clothing, a pair of baggy pants and a big t-shirt, and has a back-pack over my shoulder. I´m excited but tells myself that I´m here to help Espio and not have fun over and over again. But there´s also another feeling that haunts me and that´s dread, I´ve some memories from this park with the family I want to avoid.

"I haven´t been here for ages—"_ Last time was with my family… _I close my eyes.

I buy a ticket and enter knowing that no one notices my companion. The excitement in my chest grows with each step I take in the park and all I want is to go on a ride. There are lots of people walking around, children laughing, teens arguing and clown entertaining and I stare at everything. I continue to talk and doesn´t realize that I lost Espio in the crowd. A squeaky laugher from my past interrupts my fun and I space out while watching a clown.

It was some years ago, when I was about…ehm…maybe 13? Mom and I, together with my step-father Paul and his daughter Tina went to this amusement park as an all day trip. Mom prepared the food and Paul took care of the expenses…and Tina made my life a hell. I can still remember it so clearly: the way she told me that mom and I weren´t needed and that she would do everything she could to make our life a hell. She kept her word. It didn´t take long until I realized that I was alone in the crowd and my so called family were nowhere to be seen. Tina dragged them away from me and left me all by myself and it took several hours for mom to find me and I was so hungry, cold and afraid when she did. A shiver runs down my spine at the memory and when I return to the present I realize that the clown offers me a big goofy smile. I flinch and turn away.

When I was little I believed that Tina was the devil, that she was purely evil, especially when she told me she would take my mother away from me and make her herown.

I shrug my shoulders as I chose not to think about it anymore. I´m not living with them any more so the problem is solved, or is it? I´m happy that I managed to get away even though it´s still not certain if I´ll be able to stay and things has started to look brighter if I has to be honest. I´ve met some nice people and something in the back of my head tells me an adventure is waiting for me around the corner. Why, I don´t know, but what I know is that Espio is the key.

"Espio?" I call out for him as I walk.

I get no response so I call his name once more but to no avail. An ice-cold emotion invades my body as I realizes that I´m alone again just like in the past. I shake my head and try to tell myself that I´m an adult and don´t have to be afraid. I realize that the fear I felt as a child has almost disappeared but I still feel so on edge when walking there alone. I swallow my saliva as I call out to my freeloader again.

"Are you there…? Oh man, I look like a freak talking to myself…" My voice is wavering. "Espio…?"

I get no response and I know I´m all by myself. _Where did he go? Why didn´t he give me a sign? _I ask myself as I walk further into the crowd. _Did something happen to him? _People of all colors, sizes and ages are everywhere, enjoying the attractions and candy. A smile grows on my lips as I smell sugar in the air. _I want some candy…_My mouth is watering as I approach a store with all kind of sweets inside. Even though I´ve told myself several times that I´ve to stop eating candy I end up buying some chocolate, bright colored lollipops and a soda. I sit down at a bench to enjoy my snack while scanning the area. _I´m looking for a chameleon, a bee and an alligator…_ But they are nowhere to be seen. _Why do I help Espio?_ I ponder as I eat._ Because I´m thinking that if I do…He´ll turn my world upside down and make it more interesting?_ I sigh with my mouth full of candy. _I´m such a bad person…_

"What should I do? Wait I guess…"_ I wouldn´t be able to find Espio no matter how hard I try anyways…_

I take forward a small notebook from my pocket and start to sketch whatever comes to mind. Small lines get together and creates a face, two simple lines of a pencil makes a smiling mouth of an old woman. _What kind of story will make me able to enter the university? _I ponder as I loses myself to my drawing. I´m drawing Espio together with his two friends before I put it back in my pocket again. Their faces are stuck in my head, especially Espio´s, and I wonder if I could make one of his stories from his world into a comic for the entrance exam. What I don´t notice is that the said alien approaches me from behind.

"I found Charmy."

"Woaaaaah!" I flinch violently by the sudden voice.

I turn around and notice how Espio are sitting behind me, hidden by the shadows of a bush. He looks surprised as if he didn´t think I would react that way to him anymore. It makes me feel very embarrassed because I´ve no clue about how long he has been regarding me before making his presence known.

"Don´t sneak up on me like that ever again!" I tell him. "I´ll get a heart attack."

Espio doesn´t apologize but the nod he gives me shows that he understood and won´t do it again. That´s enough for me at the moment. I look around looking for Charmy since Espio said he had found him but the bee is nowhere to be found. The chameleon nods his head to his right as a sign for me to follow before he turns invisible. I´m about to question it before I feel how his tail touches me. Problem solved.

* * *

**Espio **takes me to a small store where a certain bee is floating around trying to sell colorful balloons. My eyes widen at the sight of the very cute Charmy but my fangirl ways vanish as I notice the dark circles around the bee´s eyes. _He´s not well._ My chest grows cold as I continue to regard the young boy working even though he´s tired while a man that looks like a manager of some sort keeps his eyes on him like a hawk.

"I thought I should avoid violence in a crowded place like this, so I need you to help me."

_Avoid violence? _I stare in the direction of the voice with wide eyed. Espio came here prepared to fight to retrieve his friend. The fact that he probably can use the ninja weapons he always carry with him hasn´t reached my brain yet so the thought is very scary to me. It would have made tomorrow´s news. "_A Purple alien attacked visitors at the amusement park to retrieve the new mascot…"_ A shiver runs down my spine.

"What do you want me to do?" I answer quietly.

Espio looks at me strangely before replying.

"Go out there and get Charmy." He answers without any details or support.

"That´s the plan?"I sigh.

"Exactly."

I look at him pleadingly but decide to improvise and leave. There´s a lot of customers walking around and it makes it harder to make eye contact with the bee but I somehow manage to approach him. He smiles at me but it seems to be a forced gesture.

"Hellooo. Do you want a balloon, miss?" he asks tiredly in a high pitched voice.

"Sure, a green one please."

I smile at him as brightly as I can. The sudden urge to comfort him is almost making me hug him but Espio´s warning stops me. He is a bee and they can sting! Something about the small and sad bee makes me feel the need to comfort him in a way I´ve only seen mothers do. It´s strange but it also makes my mission to get him out of there more important to me.

"Here." He hands me the balloon.

"Thanks Charmy." I smile as I notice how the bee reacts on me using his name even though I´m not supposed to know it. "Oh I forgot to mention that Espio wants to speak with you."

My chest turns warm as I see how Charmy changes in front of me. The dull and sad gaze disappears as he looks at me with surprise. But my happiness is soon shattered when the manager approaches Charmy with a fake smile on his lips. It seems that he noticed that I didn´t pay for the balloon yet.

"Oh your friend Charmy?" He asks the boy while looking at me.

I put my arm around Chamry carefully, avoiding his tail, and pretend we´re really close. It makes the bee flinch but he stays silence as I speak. He knows that something is going on and is smart enough to not ruin it by talking. He seems to be very alert and smart for a six-year-old.

"Yeah, I´ve known Charmy for ages." I tell the man with a smile but the smile fades as I continue "And I want to know how you could employ a six-year-old?"

I´m making sure that people around me hears what I´m saying since it´s all about creating a scene. The man almost stumbles back with surprise because it´s more of an accusation than a question in his ears and he had no clue the new mascot was only a child. I stare at him with a frown on my face as I pretend to be very furious with him. I guess it looks way exaggerated but he buys it quickly.

"What?" The man seems surprised.

"Sir, this is child labor." I tell him loudly. "People could sue you if they found out about this."

I feel how my ego grows as the man slowly gives in only to save his reputation. Everything works out just fine since a lot of people stops to look at the commotion. I can see how the sweat is forming on the man´s forehead as he looks around only to notice that he´s being stared at.

"What a horrible thing to do!" An old woman says loudly.

"Yeah… I could never have guessed that—" People starts to gossip.

The man´s eyes widen before he turns to me.

"I…what should I do to make you stay silent?" The man whispers.

"Cancel Charmy´s contract and give him his pay for some months would be good." A grin grows on my lips.

The man hands me the whole bag of money they got for selling balloons and the weight of it makes me understand it´s more than what I asked for.

"It´s a pleasure meeting you, now, who wants a balloon?" The man continues like nothing happened.

It´s strange how much a person could do so he won´t lose his reputation.

* * *

**Charmy **seems to be dazed by the situation so I take him into my arms carefully and leads him to where I know Espio is waiting for us. The small bee seems to be tired by the commotion but above all sick of working. He feels so light and fragile in my arms but Espio´s words are still echoing in my mind. Charmy can fight, if he wants to.

"What happened? I´m not sure I´m…"He murmurs.

"It´s ok Charmy." I whisper gently. "It´s ok now."

I get down on my knees behind the bench where I´m hidden by the shadows and it doesn´t take long before Espio approaches us carefully.

"Charmy." Espio utters his friend´s name as he appears out of nowhere.

"Espio!"

Charmy jumps out of my embrace to meet his friend. That´s when I see how much being away from his friends has affected Espio. His eyes shine in a different way when he speaks with the young bee and he seems so happy. A smile grows on my lips as I regard the two. The bee hugs the Chameleon tightly and the older man returns it cautiously as if he´s not used to being that intimate with him.

"You´re alright! So we both ended up here? Have you seen Vector?" Charmy throws questions at Espio.

"We´re looking for him."

Charmy looks sad for a moment before he nods, understanding that it´s not too late yet and that Espio doesn´t think of stop searching.

"I´m so tired—" He murmurs.

"I can carry you if you want. The name is Ida and you can stay at my place together with Espio until you find your other friend."

Charmy reaches out for me as I pull him into my arms and I realize he wouldn´t have let me hold him if he wasn´t that tired and if Espio wouldn´t have nodded in approval. It seems that he trusts me because Espio does. I find myself having three stomachs to feed all of a sudden but I´m happy. I´ll not be alone any more. A smile grows on my lips as Espio disappears and urges me to leave the amusement park as fast as possible.

I´m caught up in an adventure, I can sense it.

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**AN: Hope you like! Please read and review this, it´ll make the updating way easier. There is a poll in my profile about future stories, please check it out and vote for what you want me to write next!**


	4. Detective Agency

**AN: A big thank you to Ellen17 who encouraged me to continue writing! Sorry for being slow with this story but I blame my studies…and Christmas lazyness…and… (I can go on forever)! Anyway, enjoy this chapter!

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**The** sound of butter melting on a hot frying pan can be heard in my narrow apartment as I prepare breakfast. I crack three eggs and the sound intensifies which results in that my two freeloaders wake up at last. Espio open his eyes and stare at me from a distance while the bee groans in a very tired manner.

"You´re up early." Espio states as he gets up.

I look their way as I notice that they´re awake. I greet them with a _good morning _before I prepare some more food.

"Yeah, I need to start looking for a job." I smile at him. "Sorry for disturbing your sleep. I´ll prepare some food for you guys so eat when you´re ready."

Charmy sits up in his half sleeping half-awake state. He yawns loudly before he looks around since he was too tired to care where was yesterday. The job at the circus was hard, the food was disgusting, the pay was bad and not a nice bed to sleep in so he fell asleep the moment he entered the warm apartment. The young boy wakes up as he notices the scent of food.

"It smells yummy." Charmy comments tiredly. "Better than the food I got on the circus."

I flinch out if surprise as he flies up to regard what I´m making over my shoulder. I smile his way as a greeting. He is so small and innocent looking compared to Espio but something tells me that he isn´t as innocent as he looks. The small boy has been through a lot even though he´s merely six years old and that has probably taught him how to survive on his own. _I want to spoil him a little._ I ponder as I let him take a closer look at what I´m doing.

"I´m not a good chef but I need to know how to make _something _when I live alone." I explain. "I don´t want to starve to death."

"You live alone?" Charmy asks curiously as he looks around. "Where is your family?"

"Charmy…" Espio warns him in a wary voice.

I look the chameleon's way. It seems that he thinks it´s rude to ask about such matters, and I agree, but I´m somehow too tired to care about if they know about it or not. I shake my head as I turn the eggs over and fetch the salt.

"Yeah I am but my mom lives with her new family three hours away." I look at Charmy. " So I can call her anytime. The food is ready now."

I serve them the eggs, sandwiches, juice and other nice things to eat early in the morning before I take a huge bite of my own meal before preparing to leave.

"Feel free to come and go as you like. Ehm…" I look at them from the doorway while chewing. "Be careful if you decide to investigate anything today. Let´s talk more about how to find your other friend later, ok? Bye."

"What a nice girl." Charmy comments with a giggle but his serious side appears."Or is she just stupid? I wouldn´t let two strangers, aliens, do what they like if this was my home."

Espio looks at him but doesn´t respond in any way. The older knows more about the human than Charmy since he has been living with her for about two weeks now but he can´t say if she is nice or just naïve. He knows that he´s slowly starting to trust Ida but he can´t let himself rely on her too much. He can´t risk it.

The two of them sit down at the table and starts eating, they are quick to start to discuss how to continue the search for the last member of team Chaotix with or without Ida´s help.

* * *

**No matter** how many interviews I take they won´t hire me. I sigh deeply as I exit another café that declined my offer. I don´t look like a girl that would sell clothes or serve costumers coffee in the evening, I know that, but what kind of people would hire me? I´m in desperate need for a job now when I have to support two other people as well.

The offer Espio gave me the other day surfaces. He said that he and his friends used to work as detectives and that as a thank you for letting them stay at my place they could solve cases while I pretend to be the boss. I take of my glasses and clean them while thinking. That will be my last resort. I can´t rely on them too much because I still have my pride. I can´t trust them with all of my heart because they´re not from this world…

I talk to a lot of people but all of them turns me down with a fake smile They don´t like that I´m not educated, they don´t like how I look, they don´t like that I have no earlier experience so they all turned me down after a while of pretending to be interested in hiring me. I take a bite of my chocolate muffin that I bought at a nearby fast food restaurant where the manager turned me down since he thought I looked strange. I could see it in his eyes. I take another bite and swallows sourly.

No one is home when I return so I presume they´re both out searching for their friend. I sit down on the floor and sighs deeply. _I have no luck. _I start to feel sorry for myself. I close my eyes and lean against the wall as I try to relax. I don´t get a chance to since my door suddenly opens and in comes my two roommates. They both look surprised to find me sitting on the floor.

"Welcome back." I greet them with a tired smile.

Espio looks at me warily since he knows something is wrong while Charmy just smiles. The two of them enters slowly and even I understands that they didn´t make much progress with their search today as well. Charmy´s smile fades.

"I´ll prepare some coffee and snacks. It seems like we all need something to cheer us up."

I get up on my feet and walks towards the small kitchen. I´m not hungry at all since I just ate a huge muffin but I got the feeling of that both of them need it more than I do. I won´t say no to another snack though even though I should… I´m starting to gain weight. I know that Espio is worried about this Vector and that Charmy is still exhausted after what happened yesterday but they´re still trying so hard. I wish I were more like them. The two of them sits down silently and waits for the treat. _I would be thin and pretty if I were more like them._

"Thank you." Espio thanks me politely as I hand him a cup of warm coffee.

"Let´s look for him together tomorrow." I suggest.

"You didn´t find a job?" Charmy asks since he didn´t think I would offer my help.

"No." I smile weakly as I look out through the window. "It seems like I´m not needed out there."

"Why don´t you draw as a living?" Charmy suggest.

"I want to but… I can´t. I can draw but I can´t tell a good story." I sigh.

I take a sip of my coffee before I glance at Espio. I hesitate before I start to talk to him.

"Espio, do you remember your offer?"

He looks at me intensively as he remembers the offer he once told me about.

"Yes." He answers shortly.

"How do you guys feel about starting that Detective agency here?"

Espio´s eyes widen a fraction but he´s good to hide his thoughts from me.

"Are you serious?" Charmy sounds thrilled and all the sadness in his eyes disappears. "That would be awesome! And we could search for Vector while working because if there is a crime we´ll surely find him there as well!"

"You make that Vector sound like a villain." I comment while grinning.

"Haha!" He laughs. "C´mon Espio, let´s do it."

"I´ll keep my promise." He tells me sincerely but I can still see a small fraction of doubt in his eyes.

"Ok!" I smile broadly. "Let´s get started then! First we need a name.."

"The Chaotix Detective Agency, perhaps?" Espio suggests.

"Mm… sounds good!" I nod my head eagerly. "I can design some flyers so we can advertise the agency and get our first costumers. My apartment can be our head quarters…"

I start murmuring as I get some papers and pencils before I sit down and start sketching. Charmy looks over my shoulder since he shares my eagerness while Espio simply keeps an eye on my drawing.

"Maybe I can ask Adam to put one in the JAP store…and then at the internet café…"

I look up only to notice how both Espio and Charmy smiles at me with gratitude. A blush grows on my cheeks and I look down again to hide it.

* * *

**It´s** dark outside so I lit some candles as I wait for Adam and his friends to arrive. I invited them to a movie night at my place to strengthen our bonds. I seriously want to befriend them so I want this to be perfect. I rented some Asian movies, bought some snacks and cleaned my apartment and now I´m waiting for them to arrive so I can get this party started.

"Oh oh, when are they coming?" Charmy asks me eagerly.

"Any time now." I smile his way. "You guys gotta be careful now, ok? Espio stay hidden and Charmy…stay close to me and pretend that you´re a stuffed animal."

"Roger!" The two answer in a choir.

The doorbell rings and I smile at them. Espio disappears into thin air as he turns invisible while Charmy sits down and stays still. I nod their way before I put down the bowl of snacks before I let my guests enter.

"Hi!" I greet them.

"Hey." Adam smiles warmly at me as he enters.

I return the smile with equal warmth even though I´m surprised over the gentleness in his eyes. Claus, Amadeus and Stan enter followed by a girl dressed in a black and white Lolita dress. I stare at her in silence for a while before I smile at her and tell her that I like it. I did not expect a fourth guest.

"Thanks." She smiles. "I´m Mary-Lee, Stan´s girlfriend. Sorry to intrude like this but…"

"Oh it´s ok!"

"Sorry Ida, I couldn´t leave her alone." Stan grins. It´s clear that he planned this. "And Adam said you wanted new girl friends."

"Mm." I nod towards Mary-Lee and the others. "Sure, the more the merrier!"

"You got a nice place." Claus comments as he looks around. "Woah, did you draw these?"

I walk over to him and understand that he is talking about the flyers on the table. I nod before I hand them out to all of them, advertising my new agency discreetly before I show them the movies I rented for tonight.

"Cool, I love zombie movies." Amadeus comments. "Let´s watch this one first."

I sit down since Amadeus fix the tv and dvd player. I glance at Charmy in silence before I take a hold of him and let him sit in my lap. I can feel how he tenses for a moment before he relaxes and sighs. _He´s probably afraid of horror movies…even though he won´t admit it. _I conclude as I hold him close to me. A gentle touch tells me Espio´s location as well. Adam sits down next to me and Stan next to him with Mary-Lee in his lap. Claus sits down on the floor next to Amadeus.

"Oh sorry, take some pillows… I don´t have enough chairs."

"It´s ok." Adam tells me. "They can handle it."

"Oh it´s easy for you to say… Since you seem so comfortable sitting there." Claus grins.

Claus regards Adam and me while he smirks knowingly. I tense at this since I think I know what he indicates but I don´t know how to act. Adam looks at him seriously and I can´t help but laugh.

* * *

"**I hate **zombie movies…" Charmy complains as all of my guest leaves.

I pretend that I didn´t hear him as I thank them for coming. Mary-Lee invites me to join her and Stan at a manga convention next weekend and I decide to join them. Adam, Amadeus and Claus sais that they probably will show up as well.

"Bye!" I smile at them all. "Drive carefully."

"Of course!" Amadeus pulls the car keys out of his pocket. "Bye!"

I close the door behind me and Charmy and Espio appears immediately.

"Aaaah, I´m so tired." I yawn. "You did a great job guys. I don´t think they noticed you at all."

"You got nice friends Ida." Charmy comments.

"Oh I don´t know them that well yet though." I smile happily. "I´m glad though, I would feel alone without them… and without you guys."

Charmy looks surprised for a moment before he returns my smile. Espio stays silent but I notice how his mouth twitches a little. I wonder if the two of them will consider me their friend one day or if it´s a waste of time since they will return to their own planet soon? It´s always bitter-sweet to get to know new friends that will leave all too soon. I smile weakly at them.

"I´m starting to feel at home here now. I like it."

"You´re doing good, living on your own!" Charmy comments. "Haha I would be…really…scared."

"Ah, was that zombie movie too much for you?"

"No…!"

"We are used to worse." Espio answers boldly.

"Oh, I see. You guys must be a lot stronger than you look. "

I remember how Espio once said he wanted to avoid violence whish indicates that he can fight. Maybe they were forced to fight in their world? There´s a lot I don´t know about them or where they came from and it makes me a little worried. What if they´re dangerous? If they are I better befriend them as much as possible.

"I hope you won´t have to experience worse things than horror movies here." I tell them gently. "Let´s go to bed. We have to get up early tomorrow to do some advertising again."

"Yes sir!" Charmy exclaims happily.

* * *

**It s**eems like Espio woke up before the alarm clock went off again. I groan as the terrible sound echoes in the small apartment and smiles with appreciation as Espio turns it off. Charmy is as tired as I am but he gets up and joins his friend in the kitchen preparing breakfast. I hug my pillow close to my chest as I decide to sleep for five more minutes.

"It´s time to get up." Espio tells me after a while.

"Nooo…" I moan tiredly.

Espio looks at me with an irritated expression but it fades as he sighs. The purple lizard uses the oldest trick in the book to get me out of bed and that is to separate me from my blanket. I stare at him as the coldness makes me shiver but he just smirks knowingly. I´m glad I slept in my pajamas today because I wouldn´t like him to see me in my underwear only…

"Espio…You´re so cruel!" I groan as I get up. "I need coffee…"

"Here!"

Charmy comes flying with a cup of coffee and offers it to me cheerfully. I accept it in a confused manner. This is strange. The two of them never acts this way and both of them seem pretty happy. Charmy is happy a lot but Espio…I´ve never seen him smile like this. He is radiating warmth and happiness. I stare at them before I look at my coffee, it isn´t drugged is it?

"Ok…spit it out. What happened?"

"Somone just called…" Espio starts with a smirk.

My eyes widen. _Called? _

"…and we got out first case!" Charmy smiles broadly.

* * *

**AN: liked it? I hope so! I can promise you some action in the next chapter! I am really eager to write it...! Please R&R!**


	5. The Orphanage Part 1

**AN; Thanks for the reviews so far! Special thanks to rosi345, Dusk, LadySkarlettofSkaro, Ellen17, Crystalline Ice, Crispy Pink, and Anonymous reviewers who were too lazy to log in! I really like to read your comments. **

**Don't worry, I won't delete this story. It's just that since Sonic is a nostalgic fandom instead of a present one I sometimes lack the motivation to start writing. One I do start to write though, it all comes at once. Please be understanding, updates might be slow because of this and my university studies. **

**Now enjoy!**

* * *

**Th****e** only sound in my apartment is the ticking of the clock on the wall, no, add the sound of me nervously tapping my feet against the floor as well. It's 3 o'clock and The Chaotix Detective Agency is awaiting their first client to arrive and talk about our debut case. I am sitting at my desk with a cup of cold coffee in my hands while I stare at the door in my wait for someone to open it. Espio is standing behind me already using his ability to camouflage himself to blend into the wallpapers. Charmy is sitting in the sofa pretending to be a stuffed animal but he moves frequently and ruins the perfect hiding spot.

"Why won't they come?" I ask no one in particular.

"Maybe... it was just a prank call?" Charmy suggest after yawning.

I feel sick to my stomach and I regret that I actually took Espio's offer to start the agency. Who was I trying to fool? I can't pretend to be a cool and collected detective like they can. I am a chubby klutz with almost no working experience and I just decided to start my own business, just like that? A deep sigh leaves my lips as I take a sip from my coffee. I spit it out with a grimace on my face as I realizes it's cold. I sigh again. The sudden sound of my doorbell ringing makes me jump in the chair I am sitting in out of pure reflex almost making me spill that disgusting coffee all over my desk. I put the cup away, straighten my hair a little before I go to let them in. Before I open I glance back at Espio and Charmy over my shoulder; they are perfectly hidden.

"Welcome to The Chaotix Detective Agency. You must be the McGreggor couple?"

A middle aged couple stands in the doorway looking a little lost as they notice me. I guess they didn't expect someone like me to open the door for them when it was Espio who took their call. Should I call him my personal answering machine?

"Yes." The grumpy looking man answers.

I force a smile to my lips as I nod before I show them into the apartment. I notice how they stare at my boxes of manga, my pencils, paper, statues and other stuff I use to draw. I should have tried to make it look a little more like the detective agencies in the movies. I curse mentally.

"Sit down please." I make a hand gesture at the chairs in front of the desk as I sit down. "And tell me about the case."

The man stares at me as if he is judging me. This feels just like a job interview. I wonder if they already are thinking of giving up since they are probably sensing how insecure I am at the moment. The woman seems more upset and desperate though and she is the one that starts to tell me about their problem.

"You see, we have no place else to turn. The police can't help us..." The woman is already pleading.

The insecurity I felt gets worse as she says that even the police couldn't help them. This sounds really bad...I swallow my saliva.

"What happened?" I ask her wide-eyed.

"Aren't you too young to do this kind of work?" Mr McGreggor interrupts his wife when she starts talking again.

That took me by surprise. I am forced to meet a quite cold stare as I face the man and it makes me lose my confidence. I am about to answer as I sense how Espio has moved from his spot behind me to right next to me, almost as if he wants to help out. It doesn't, it only put more pressure on me to stay calm. Remember to breathe in, breathe out...breathe in... I remind myself as I regain my composure and is able to meet his stare with equal fierceness.

"I may be young but I am taking this seriously." I act offended. "Will there be a case or not? I'm sure you can go back to the police if you want to ..."

"It's a yours!" The woman exclaims desperately. "You have to come!"

Her desperation makes me really uncomfortable. How can the husband be so cold and calm while she is so desperate? Are they really married? I don't really believe in marriage anyway... I sigh.

"...Sure."I answer after a moment. "Now, tell me, what happened to you?"

I take a pen in my hand and prepare to take notes of what they say. I wish that both Charmy and Espio are listening carefully at the moment because I, who suck at staying focused and understand things, would possibly miss a lot of leads. The woman looks at Mr McGreggor for a moment before she looks my way.

"Me and my husband runs an orphanage in the outskirts of town..." She starts hesitantly. "Recently, when playing Hide and Seek, the children suddenly acts strangely and disappears into the forest. It's like something in there enchants them and..."

"Dear.." Mr McGreggor interrupts his wife.

My eyes move between the couple in silence. The husband seems to warn her from not saying too much in my opinion. Does he know something? I shake my head, it's too early to think like that. I'll just leave the thinking to my two alien friends. The children they mentioned comes to mind and I feel how my stomach turns ice-cold. I hate when children, who often are innocent, are victims of something terrible.

"The children went missing?"

"No, they come back after an hour or so but they are different and can't remember where they were during the time they were missing." The man answers in a way to make it seem less serious.

"Memory loss?" I guess loudly.

"Yes, something like that..." The man nods.

"But everyone has returned?" I continue.

"Yes, but the time they are missing increases each time and I am worried that someone will really disappear one day. You have to do something!" The woman tells me.

"I'll do my best to get to the bottom of this..." I tell her before I hand her a paper. "Please sign here..."

"Thank you." She smiles at me as she takes the offered pen and signs the contract.

It's a contract that once they've signed they can't fire us without a proper reason such as failing the job or causing trouble. It's also a life line for us in case they decide to trick us and not pay us for the job when it's all done.

"Don't thank me before the case is solved." I smile back weakly. I am not sure I can do this. "I guess I will be seeing you on Tuesday?"  
"Yes. Good bye." The woman seems calmer now. "We can talk about the details over a cup of tea."

"That sounds nice." I smile back.

The couple gets up and prepares to leave, they close the door behind their backs and I exhale deeply before I get up from my chair as well.

"Gah I'm really worried! What if we can't solve this case? The police couldn't do anything about it! And the children..." I start ranting before I notice that Espio is visible again and is calmly writing down something in my notebook. "Espio, how come you're so calm?"

His yellow eyes turn to focus on me for a second before he continues to scribble down his thoughts on paper.

"Something like this always have an explanation. We just need to find it." He answers as if that would solve everything.

"Heee!" I look at him wide-eyed. "That's the only plan you got?"

"My suggestion is..." He looks slightly offended by my outburst. "That we visit the orphanage and take a look around to find more clues. Then, I'll know what to do."

"Sounds like a good idea!" Charmy agrees.

"Alright, I just hope you know what to do." I sigh.

"You should remember one thing..." Espio speaks up.

"Yes?" I urge him on.

"Don't get emotionally involved with a case." Espio tells me while staring straight into my soul. "It might kill you."

* * *

**Espio and Charmy**, or mostly Espio, prepares for going to the orphanage this Tuesday while I continue to practice my drawing skills. I am lying on my stomach on the middle of the floor drawing a picture of my mental picture of a detective agency in the gray scale on a piece of paper. It's turning out pretty good. I take a handful of chocolate and shove them into my mouth before I start shading it. I think of a rainy Monday, late at night, one sole man stays behind to try to solve a case that has been bugging him lately... and the picture is complete. I sit up and stare at it before I smile broadly like a fool. I feel proud over myself. I am about to ask the two aliens to take a look when I stop myself upon seeing them concentrate on mine and Espio's notes from earlier today. They really do want to find that Vector I ponder to myself. I don't think he has anything to do with this case though. My happiness fades slowly as I continue to regard them as they work seriously and then I take another look at my drawing. It wasn't that good after all.

* * *

**Since I don't **own a car I'll have to take the buss that goes to the orphanage. I really dislike public transportation because people stare. They always do. And to make it worse, the bus stop outside my apartment building is one of the closest stop to the mall which means the bus is always crowded when it's my turn to get on. No empty seats results in either me asking someone if it's alright to sit beside them or stand up during the ride. It's embarrassing because they stare a lot since I dress and look a little different than the average youth. They probably stare because I am chubbier than the average youth as well.

"So we're taking the bus?" Charmy asks me.

"Yeah, it'll take us all the way there. Make sure to be still, ok?"

Charmy nods with a smile. He has really got into his role as a stuffed animal lately. I turn to face Espio but he has already made himself invisible which means I don't have to tell him to hide during the ride. It didn't take long for the bus to arrive and it was crowded just as I thought so I approach a guy and ask if I can sit down. His stare makes me jumpy.

"Is it ok for me to sit here?"

"...Sure."

"Thanks." _Oh God, that guy so wanted me to sit elsewhere..._

I sigh. Why can't I just stop caring what people think? Life would be so much easier if I could. I stare out through the window. We reach the Orphanage after thirty minutes of pure hell and I am actually happy to go to work. Mr McGreggor, who's name is Henry, meets us at the gate. He just tells me to follow him without even a proper greeting.

"Why do you bring that bee along?" He asks me out of the blue.

"Oh? It's the agency's mascot. Cute isn't it?" I answer cheerfully in an attempt to make the atmosphere better. Epic failure.

"Hn." He snorts at me before heading off.

"That grumpy man shouldn't be around kids at all!" I mutter to myself.

"_You."_

The sudden voice makes me jump. It's only Espio.

"Yes?"

"_Draw a map of this place, make it detailed." _He whispers.

"...Yes." I don't know why he wants it but I won't question it right now. That feels like the best thing to do.

Espio is already one step ahead of me. I haven't even payed attention to our surroundings until he mentioned it. I look up from my notebook and gaze at the site with an open mind. The place is rather huge with one white main building in the middle. It looks like an old church especially with that bell in the tower. There are about three or four smaller houses at the side and I suppose they are where the children sleep during the night. Thinking about children, this place seems pretty dead to be a place full of them.

"Mr McGreggor, where are the children?"

"Inside, it's soon time for prayer."

He leads me into the building and then directly to a small chapel. I out to myself since I wanted to take a look around inside first. The sound of young children singing can be heard as we enter the small room. I can't help but feel that if there is a God he would be present in this kind of place. The singing sounds beautiful but something is off. I look around. But I can't put my finger on what. The woman, Henry's wife, approaches us from the crowd and she makes sure not to disturb the children or the priest.

"Oh you have arrived!" The woman, called Diana, greets me.

She seems a lot happier today than when I first met her. It makes me relax a bit.

"Yes." I nod.

"I'll get some tea prepared. Let's have a long chat."

Some children noticed me and looks up at me with curiosity shining brightly in their eyes. All of them seem to be under the age of ten. I have heard somewhere that you can stay at an orphanage until you turn eighteen because that's when you need to start living on your own. Such a … harsh reality. I smile at them gently.

"Why are you here?" One guy asks me. "Did you lose your parents too?"

"Eh, I..." I don't have an answer to that one.

"So you are here to adopt?" He sound hopeful.

"Don't joke around Gary." Mr McGreggor tells him quite sourly. "This lady wouldn't be able to take care of a child even if she wanted to. Now listen to the priest."

"Yes..." The kid, Gary, answers sadly.

That leaves me opening and closing my mouth like a goldfish. He said what? I feel really insulted by that comment but decides not to voice my anger, they are my clients after all. I pout sourly as I follow the couple through the hallways of the church. A shiver runs down my spine, it's really cold here. It doesn't look much like a place for children with white, gray and wooden walls and I wonder if it's more strict here than I first imagined. What if the children didn't disappear but tried to run away? I shake my head at the thought. Diana takes me too a small office that looks a lot more comfortable than the rest of the place. Henry murmurs something before he leaves and I'm relieved to only be with his wife. I sit down and makes sure that Charmy's tail won't hurt me as I hold him in my arms. Diana looks at Charmy with a strange expression on her face but she doesn't say anything. Charmy's stomach grumbles suddenly and my eyes go wide.

"Oh are you hungry dear?" Diana asks me.

":..Y-y-yeah a little. Only ate breakfast before I got here." I tells her in an apologizing manner before I squeeze Charmy gently.

He must be so hungry right now. I spoiled him with snacks all the time at home so being without food for this long might actually be a burden to the six-year-old. Espio who is probably hiding somewhere in the room must also be at least a little hungry as well. Diana serves some snacks and I feel guilty, here I can sit and eat snacks while the two of them starve! I take a cookie and thanks the woman. My guilt fades a little when I notice how some cookies just "disappears". Espio sure knows how to take things without causing much trouble, just as he did when he was my invisible freeloader. I shove a cookie into Charmy's mouth discreetly. He almost chokes at it.

"As you know the children keeps disappearing when playing Hide & Seek. They usually reappear after one hour or two but that time period is constantly getting longer. I want you to find out why they are heading into the forest and find a way to make it stop." Diana summarizes.

"Understood." I nod as I take another cookie. "I will do my best to find new leads that can solve this...!"

"Thank you." Diana seems grateful. "Henry will show you to your room and then you are free to look around however you like."

"One question, when do the children usually play outside?"

"Ah, after breakfast, around 09:00."

"I see, thank you."

Henry arrives quickly and shows me the way to my room. I didn't expect to get a room but to return home with the last bus so I didn't bring any think to sleep in. It's convenient though. This way Espio and Charmy can take more time to look around and do their detective work. Henry glares at me but stays silent during the walk until we reach the said room.

"Don't expect to get any room service here. You are only here to do your job and if you even can't do that I'll make sure you go home tomorrow morning."

I feel so insulted but I stay silent. It would feel right to talk back to a client like that especially since he is much older than I.

"Your room is over there. Rest well."

"...Thanks." I fake a polite smile.

I enter the room and close the door behind me quickly. A deep breathe leaves me as I throw myself at the bed in the narrow room. Charmy flees out of my arms to not get squished to death between me and the bed. He seems to be happy over finally being allowed to use his wings.

"I'm sure he is the culprit!" I shout out into the pillow.

"Don't jump into conclusions." Espio tells me as he makes himself visible.

The chameleon regards me with his arms crossed over his chest. I pout as I stare back at him with half of my face hidden in the strangely smelling pillow.

"But there is something fishy about him!" I exclaim vigorously.

Espio just looks at me silently but that is enough to make me shut up. I know he is right: he is the detective around here not me.

"Let's take a walk around the area." I suggest.

"It's better to wait until everyone's asleep." Charmy comments. "I want to fly around and search too."

"Sure." I agree.

"Ida, why don't you rest? We can take over from here." Charmy suggests gently.

"Oh, well..." I look up at Charmy with a surprised expression. "Sure I could... stay here and draw...or something?"

I didn't think about that. I am not the detective here so why should I bother to look around with them? Maybe I'll become a burden if I tag along all the time. My chest hurts a little at the thought but I hide it with a goofy smile. I am not like them after all. As they exit the room after a little meal sent by the ones working at the orphanage's kitchen I start doodling on a sketch of this place.

* * *

**Espio and Charmy **sneaks out in the unholy hour to investigate the scene of the possible crime. It has gotten dark and damp outside but that doesn't stop them from doing their part of the detective work. The church looks normal to them, nothing to be suspicious over, but then there's the forest and the nearby grounds. It's calm, too calm, Espio ponders to himself as he looks around cautiously. He doesn't like this place at all.

"Do you find anything?" Charmy asks him impatiently.

"...Not yet." Is his sole answer.

"I don't think we will find Vector here..." Charmy complains sadly.

Espio is eerily quiet but he agrees with Charmy. If Vector was here they would certainly found some traces of him already. That alligator may like to goof around and prefers money over work but he still knows how to take things seriously when it's needed. Vector is not here. Espio sighs as he frowns. It would have been too easy if they found him at their first mission, he knows that, but he can't help but feel disappointed. This case feels worthless now but the fact that Ida did her best to get them here is enough to make him try to solve it even though he won't gain anything by doing so. This is his and Charmy's way of paying her back for her hospitality.

"I can check the south side, Espio, take the rest."

"Roger."

The two aliens spread out in their search for leads but it seems hopeless. The night is calm and nothing seems out of the ordinary. Espio stays hidden as he pace around soundlessly since you never know when someone would look out their window. It wouldn't be good if they believed he was the culprit. Espio shakes his head as he hopes that Charmy also thought of staying hidden somehow.

Espio heads off quickly and uses his ninja skills to move gracefully without making a sound nor leaving a trace of his presence behind. The forest look dark and scary from a distance but Espio doesn't see what's different from other places he has been. Not a sound can be heard as he jumps from branch to branch while searching for an explanation for the disappearances. He stops on a thick branch and kneels down quietly. He closes his eyes and just listen to the sound of the forest. There is almost no sound at all which means there are no animals there. Golden eyes widen. The absence of animals is a bad sign. A forest is usually full of life unless something made them flee. This makes Espio aware of that something is wrong even though he can't see it.

"I have... a bad feeling about this." He murmurs to himself.

He feels the need to find Charmy since he believes something bad will happen and starts running towards the orphanage immediately. Something is in this forest and it's powerful enough to scare the animals away. Something lingers there... Espio frowns as he accelerates. He was right, something bad is happening: Charmy is being attacked by an unseen force.

"Espio! It attacked out of nowhere!"

"Stand your ground!" Is the chameleon's answer.

The sound of metal clashing together can be heard as Espio throws several shuriken towards where he believes the presence is. _Metal?_ Espio's eyes narrow. A gasp leaves his lips as something hard and hollow hits him from the side. The impact sends the chameleon flying through the air until his back hits a tree. Pain spread through him, making him lose his ability to breathe for a moment. Charmy screams of pain as the _thing_ attacking them hurts him. Espio has never been fighting a foe he can't see but now he understand how his enemies feel when facing him. He is quick to get up on his feet and charge at whatever they are facing using kunai and other ninja tools he brought with him but it's useless. His knives can't break its defense at all.

"What is this thing!" Charmy questions as he tries to stick it with his tail.

"Our attacks are useless!" Espio breathes.

"How can we win when we don't know what we're fighting!" Charmy panics. "This must be the thing that made the children...!"

Espio thought that as well but he is better at masking his fear. He pulls out a smoke bomb from his pocket and uses it as a temporary escape route for him and Charmy. Together they retreat from danger. Espio knows he is risking a lot. Using a smoke bomb might blow their cover cut he couldn't make another opening.

"Did we manage to flee?"

Espio and Charmy stands back to back watching the area cautiously. A sudden noise makes both of them turn around hastily and aim their weapons at the source of sound. But what they meet is a pair of wide, frightened green eyes.

* * *

**I stare** at Espio's knife, or what it is, with wide eyes. If he didn't stop himself in time he would have poked my eye out with that! His closeness makes me take several steps backwards both in fear of him and his weapons. My heart is beating like crazy. I always knew he knew how to fight but I didn't know he could have that look in his eyes: eyes ready to slaughter in an instant. I can feel how my legs are starting to tremble. Espio's eyes widen by surprise and he withdraws his weapon. Charmy sighs in relief at the sight of me but I can't understand why he would be that glad to see me. Did they expect someone else?

"Why are you here?" Espio asks me out of breath and slightly wide-eyed.

His and Charmy's expressions tells me something isn't right but I can't understand what. That leaves me just utterly confused and lost as I stand there, in front of them.

"You guys took so long and I got worried." I answer in a surprised voice since I can't understand why I being here would be so wrong.

"You shouldn't be here." Espio sounds really impatient.

"Eh?" I'm confused.

My confusion doesn't fade as both Espio's and Charmy's expressions change once again as they seem to look at something behind me. I tilt my head to the side wonderingly. I know they didn't want me to get in the way during their research but I can't grasp why they would stay up so late, or early, the first day. I got worried that someone found out about them and locked them up somewhere.

"Ida, run!" Charmy shouts.

I stare at him without understanding anything. A sudden force takes a hold of my whole body and I feel how every limb tenses. It pulls me forward and I have no chance to fight it as my feet leaves the ground. It feels just like a roller coaster ride going terribly wrong. Dizziness makes me want to puke as the thing holding me captive shakes me violently. Its grip on me is firm and hard, it makes it hard to breathe.

"What's happening!" I yelp in a frightened voice.

"It's pulling her towards the forest!" Charmy sounds terrified.

Everything is starting to turn black as the lack of oxygen starts to affect me. I can't hear what they are saying any longer because my senses are going blank. I'm afraid. Really scared.

"I..huh... can't..." I murmur.

"Focus on breathing!" Espio shouts as he notice my problem.

A metallic sound is heard when Charmy charges at the thing but he bounces backwards. The thing that holds me vibrates by the collision and a hollow sound echoes unpleasantly. It makes the world spin. Tears escape my eyes as my chest starts to hurt. I can't take this much longer. Some more metallic sounds are heard before I fall. Arms encircle me as someone softens my fall. My lips tremble as I inhale deeply, my eyes turns clear slowly as I stare at my rescuer. A pair of intense, cat-like eyes stare back at me. Espio. My eyes widen. How can someone so small carry me, an overweight girl who is surely twice his size, so easily? Where does his strength come from? We land on the ground and he puts me down gently before he turns his back towards me in a protecting manner. I stare at his small back with a terrified expression on my face, I can't control my body from shaking. I hope I didn't pee in my pants.

"Stay back." He tells me over his shoulder seriously.

"O-o-okay!" I stutter.

Espio's tail twitches before he leaps into action again. My eyes keeps getting bigger as I see how he and Charmy attacks the thing that hurt me as if they were some kind of battle machines. I haven't seen anything like it, well, only in video games. I cast a glance towards the church and I notice that some windows are lit which means people are starting to get disturbed by the commotion. This is bad. I swallow saliva nervously as I turn my attention back to the fighting.

"You gotta end this! People are noticing!" I shout.

Charmy and Espio exchange some words I can't hear before they charge again. This time whatever they are fighting seems to retreat into the forest slowly. I thank God, even though I am a non-believer, for that one. I fall to my knees in the grass as the danger finally pass. My eyes are narrow but distant as I rewind everything that happened in my head. I can't believe it. This was not what I expected when I decided to become a detective!

"What was that?" I hate how my voice breaks. It's even more clear in this eerie silence.

"Certainly nothing of this dimension." Espio answers with a distant expression on his face, he is in deep thoought.

"What do you mean?" I glance at him but finds myself unable to really look him in the face suddenly.

"I think it wasn't just me, Charmy and Vector that came to this world. Maybe the villain is someone we already know." Espio tells us knowlingly.

I space out for a moment as I try to grasp everything he said. After that I look at the chameleon closely. He's powerful, dangerous and deadly. And above all that an alien from another world. I didn't see that before. I can't believe I was that naive. My body turns ice-cold as my thoughts wander to darker things about Espio.

"What?" He asks me when he notices my fearful stare.

"...I didn't know you could do that sort of things." I comment breathlessly. "You're like a real ...ninja."

He looks up at me wordlessly but his eyes narrow a fraction as he realizes why I am in a daze. His expression darkens a little almost as if he feels insulted or angry. It makes me even more jumpy and confused. I have no clue about how I should act around him and Charmy anymore. They are not as innocent I thought they were.

"Are you afraid?" He looks at me seriously.

"W-what?" I stutter because I haven't thought about it before.

"Are you afraid of me?" He repeats, breaking the silence mercilessly.

"... I don't know." I answer hesitantly.

A very, very, uncomfortable silence spread between me and Espio and Charmy squirms unpleasantly due to it. I can't look Espio in the face and he seems to be lost in his own thoughts to even spare me one glance.

"Wouldn't I have killed you already if I wanted you dead?" Espio tells me bluntly.

"...Espio..." Charmy pleas with him to not be so harsh.

"...Hahah." I laugh nervously as I try to hide my fear. "Don't put it like that!"

Will I ever be able too look Espio in the eyes again? I stare at the ground. Espio's words echoes in my mind. He said he would have killed me already if he really wanted to hurt me. He stayed at my apartment without my knowledge for one week without even touching me and he saved my life just now. He may be dangerous and powerful but he is not evil, of that I am sure. I just need to find away to feel comfortable around such powerful creatures as them. Espio talks to Charmy about the case and the two of them are kinda ignoring me as I sit there on the ground being utterly distressed. I force my trembling body up from the ground.

"Thank you." I whisper as I force myself to look at him ."For saving me back there."

Espio looks at me over his shoulder. A small grin can be seen at his lips before he disappears into the night. The strange tension between the three of us disappears just like that. Charmy laughs and hugs me suddenly, a gesture I return.

"We gotta get back before Henry finds us out here." I murmur.

I came to know of Espio's and Charmy's true power that night and I thought that maybe, just maybe, I bit off more than I can chew when I let the two of them stay with me.

* * *

**AN: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! It's really hard to write a detective story so I hope it's ok and has that slightly scary feeling attached somewhere. I liked the drama in this chapter, haha! **

**Do someone already know about the villain? Tell me your thoughts about this case!**

**Feel free to review! **


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